Coupling effect on thermal comfort in a typical cubicle-based office with personalized floor diffuser control

Area of Science:

• Building Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Modern office environments often feature cubicles allowing individual control over micro-environmental parameters like airflow.
• Discrepancies in personal thermal sensation preferences among occupants can lead to suboptimal thermal comfort.
• Understanding the interplay between individual control and shared environments is crucial for effective building design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically investigate the impact of differing personal thermal sensation preferences on thermal comfort in a typical office cubicle layout.
• To analyze the influence of neighboring cubicles (coupling effect) and upper space openness on local thermal comfort.
• To compare the effects of occupant thermoregulation with conventional constant heat flux assumptions.

Main Methods:

• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed to model airflow and thermal conditions within office cubicles.
• Various scenarios were simulated, manipulating doorway status (open/closed) and upper space openness.
• Occupant thermoregulation models were incorporated and compared against standard constant heat flux models.

Main Results:

• Local thermal comfort is significantly affected by adjacent cubicles (coupling effect) only when doorways are closed.
• The openness of the upper space does not influence the coupling effect but does impact overall thermal comfort.
• Thermoregulation effects show a notable difference compared to assuming constant heat flux from occupants.

Conclusions:

• Doorway status is a critical factor in mitigating or exacerbating thermal discomfort caused by neighboring cubicle conditions.
• Office design strategies should consider doorway management and airflow distribution for enhanced occupant thermal comfort.
• Incorporating occupant thermoregulation provides a more realistic assessment of thermal comfort compared to static heat flux models.